1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Dutch oven stands. The novel features of the invention while particularly applicable to the use of Dutch ovens, may also be extended to other similar cooking apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Dutch oven cooking has survived from the days of the open hearth, and is still flourishing. When Lewis and Clark made their pioneering trek to the Northwest in 1805, they listed the Dutch oven as one of their most valued pieces of equipment. Legend has it that the Dutch oven was actually invented in colonial times by Paul Revere.
The oven was then widely manufactured in the New England states, but after traders from Holland bought large numbers for barter with the Indians and frontier settlers, the name “Dutch Oven” stuck. After widespread use in the colonies, the Dutch Oven followed the pioneers west as an indispensable utensil in the chuck wagon and the miner's mule pack. Today, river runners, wilderness campers and even home cooks consider the Dutch Oven an essential item, to whom it is affectionately referred to as the “D.O.”
The name Dutch oven has been applied to a variety of cooking pots, kettles, and ovens over the years. To this day the name “Dutch Oven” is applied to various cast pots or kettles. The most common application of the name is to a cast iron pot or kettle with a flat bottom having three legs which form a part of the flat bottom to hold the oven above the cooking fuel, which is typically coals, flat sides and a flat, flanged lid for also holding coals on top of the Dutch Oven. These ovens typically have a steel bail handle attached to “ears” on each side of the oven near the top for carrying. Other ovens may also be called a “Dutch Oven” such as cast aluminum Dutch ovens and cast iron pots or kettles with rounded lids, flat bottoms and no legs.
The Dutch Oven of today has evolved over the years as various manufacturers made refinements and improvements over previous version of cast metal pots. For example, the shape of the “ears” has evolved as has the length and thickness of the legs. The lid also has seen many changes ranging from rounded to flat and from no lip to various shapes of lips or flanges.
Lodge Manufacturing Company, located in South Pittsburg, Tenn., a manufacturer of Dutch Ovens, distinguishes the two types of ovens by calling the rounded top, flat bottom oven with no legs, a Dutch Oven. The oven with a flat lid with a lip around the edge and a flat bottom with three legs they call a “Camp Oven”.
No matter what you call it or what shape it is cast to, a well-prepared meal from a Dutch Oven has a delicious flavor unmatched by most other cookware.
A concern of users of Dutch ovens is that they will inadvertently create an unwanted fire or worse yet a wildfire where thousands of acres of forest are put at risk along with life and property. The problem arises because most often the art of using a Dutch oven, has heretofore involved the use of an open fire and or the use of charcoals placed on the ground. Presence of wind, human interaction with the Dutch Oven and with the fuel further has exacerbated the likelihood of an unwanted fire.
An additional objective for the Dutch Oven gourmets is the fact that it has often been difficult, when cooking directly on charcoals to maintain a level cooking vessel (especially when baking cakes and other similar foods), or to easily rotate a heavy Dutch oven over the coals without lifting it and in the process thereby disturbing the contents of the oven and/or the coals themselves. For those Dutch Oven cooking connoisseurs a nice level cake is very desirable, and a level cake starts with a level Dutch Oven.
Another objective for Dutch Oven users, especially for back packers, river runners and the like is the need for a solution to the foregoing objectives which is truly portable, takes up minimal space, forms an integral one-piece device, where parts cannot be lost, and which is durable and sturdy.
Many cooking devices have been devised over the years addressing various problems such as portability, wind resistant burners, control of airflow to the fuel, folding leg arrangements, adjustable cooking racks, primarily in the context of barbequing and grilling but none are known to describe singly or in combination the invention claimed.
A major limitation of many barbequing and grilling devices is they are not truly portable in the sense a backpacker could use them and they are cumbersome to use and they are not contemplated for use especially in the context of Dutch Oven cooking. Note, that while other conventional devices may have a small volume, volume is not the only factor affecting portability. A low-volume stove, for example, may lack portability due to its shape and configuration, exterior protrusions, high aspect ratio and number of removable parts which may become lost during transport or use. Hence, an object of this invention is to provide a low profile stand for ease of use, transport and storage.
Previous devices are not known to provide the instant invention's specific combination of features of portability coupled with adequate stability for the Dutch Oven cooking while also addressing leveling of the Dutch Oven while also including the fire prevention aspects of the instant invention.
For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 955,140 to Cronk describes a camping apparatus where a cooking platform having common openings is suspended by a tripod over an enclosure formed by wall sections to contain fuel for cooking, where the ground itself forms the bottom of the enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,705 to Bedol describes a collapsible barbeque grille using a tripod support apparatus along with a continuous circular sheet metal fuel bowl, to hold the fuel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,650B1 to Tuttle, describes an adjustable-height tripod stand which supports an easy-to-level tri-pod stand having a steel burner plate for a Dutch Oven pot. The device contemplates the use of three legs forming the tripod which intersect with each other and the use of saw teeth on the legs which intersect with the snap-in-place steel plate in order to level the plate. Alternatively, the Tuttle device discloses the use of the Dutch oven itself snapped into the teeth and is used directly over coals on the ground or grass. The arrangement of this device makes it inherently unstable and susceptible to being toppled over by the wind or inadvertently by the user. Further, once cooking begins, it becomes difficult, if not dangerous to re-adjust the level of the steel cooking plate or Dutch oven, if necessary.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,932 to DeCarlo discloses a collapsible picnic cook stove, intended for use with a disposable pan-shaped fuel-holding member for burning fuel. This device contemplates the use of such disposable fuel trays disposed beneath a cooking grill and held in place by support rings. In as much as the trays are disposable, this creates an additional burden for back packers as this requires additional supplies to be taken. Further, in as much as this collapsible picnic cook stove requires the use of multiple parts to be assembled, it increases the chance that the disposable tray might become separated from the support rings and other elements of the stove during transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,368 to Hunt discloses a multipurpose portable cooking assembly having in one configuration a charcoal boiler tray, which is supported by pivotal legs. This device is not truly portable in the form described by the instant invention and is not intended for use with ovens. The device disclosed by Hunt contains multiple parts forming its assembly which can become separated during use and transport of the multipurpose cooking assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,080 to Botnick; describes a collapsible table having a rotating top. The tabletop of the Botnick device cannot be leveled on uneven terrain and the tabletop sits atop of rods, which are inherently unstable and subject it to being easily toppled over by the wind or by inadvertent colliding with the device by the user. Botnick does not describe a device for use in connection with cooking.
U.S. Patent to Hamilton et. al. describes a portable stove containing burners, wherein each burner is surrounded by a wind retardant bowl. The stove also includes shelves, which lock into place during use and storage along with legs which may be folded and secured to the stove during storage. Hamilton is not portable in the sense it can be placed into a hiker's backpack and it is comprised of multiple parts which can become separated from the stove while being transported.
U.S. Patent to Boetcker describes a three legged collapsible outdoor barbeque and cooking stove apparatus and method having multiple housing assemblies, which provide the user with the ability to control air flow to the fuel via the use of vent holes in connection with fire chamber assembly which includes a fire housing having a fuel pan and outer assembly including vent holes. Rotational interaction between the fire housing and the vent holes and fuel pan vent holes allow the user to effectively control the flow of air to the fuel. While Boetcker discloses its potential use of the device with a Dutch Oven, its design does not provide the stability, portability, leveling features, or the ability to easily rotate the Dutch oven while cooking of the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,683 to Larsen et. al. discloses an apparatus and method for Dutch Oven cooking over charcoal, which incorporates the use of a propane burner to quickly pre-heat charcoal briquettes. This device contemplates the use of a bulky propane tank to quickly ignite coals in a bulky charcoal-containing hopper. While Larsen appears to have advantages directed to pre-heating charcoal fuel, it does not provide the stability, portability, leveling features, or the ability to easily rotate the Dutch oven while cooking of the instant invention.
From the foregoing, the need should be appreciated for an environmentally safe, simply constructed, sturdy, easy to use, small, integral assembly, reusable, inexpensive, portable cooking stand for Dutch Ovens. Further, the need should be recognized for a simple way to level the stand and for the need to rotate the Dutch Oven over the fuel without actually lifting the oven itself.
Accordingly, a fuller understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION, and the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT, in addition to the scope of the invention as defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.